I now have simulated (not in a van, but stuff I’d have in the van) field experience as to what will work/not work in my Mercedes Sprinter photography adventure van. On my recent trip I took along the NEC PA302W and my 2015 MacBook Pro, to test the setup at a friend’s house in the Eastern Sierra. There was some open question as to whether a MacBook Pro would be viable for my work, and the answer is a resounding “no”.

The question of which Mac to use was unsettled until now. A laptop could work in theory, but that did not turn out so well:

The simulated setup worked: I wrote a lengthy new article for Zeiss Lenspire, as well as processing and publishing these Fujifilm GFX images, all with photographs shot over a few days prior on that trip—without having to return home with a huge pile of unsorted/unevaluated material.

Bottom line: with the Sprinter van setup as envisioned, I can work efficiently in the field just like at home. I am very excited about this; it was always about 1000 miles of driving over 7-14 days and then a huge unprocessed pile of work when back home.

Update: the Sprinter van is being delivered in a few days. I am going to take it out bare bones for a week or so, then it goes to Phase 1 of the upfitting which includes windows, 5120 watt-hour lithium battery, cork-insulated floor and a few other things.